Portable electric drain-pipe cleaner



Oct. 6, 1942. c. w. FAUST PORTABLE ELECTRIC DRAIN-PIPE CLEANER Filed Aug. 1,'-194o 2 Sh eets-Sheet 1 Iggy-HQ %/l Fig. 4

- Inn/M- M Oct. 6, 1942. r

c. w. FAUST PORTABLE ELECTRIC DRAIN-PIPE CLEANER Filed Aug. 1,. 1940' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 64/ M Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES rattler orrl-os jPORTABLE'ELECTRIG DRAIN-PIPE CLEANER Conrail W. Faust, Louisville; Ky.

ApplicationiAugust 1, L940, Serial N0.;34'9,186

1 Claim.

My invention relates to improvements inqdevices forrcleaning drain-pipes choked or clogged withan accumulatiomof foreign matter. And the principal object of my invention has been to de- "sign *a hand portable electrically-driven device :provided with-a long flexible." helical spring-cable *havingwa rcircular hook on F the front end thereof, :that roan-be ,quickly adjusted as to the desirable .length;and pushed into theopen end of the {drainepipe and rotatedrrapidly to breakthrough the accumulation :therein "and clean the pipe. Another object; of: my invention=has been to designa strong: and light 'housingor carrying case 1 for my complete equipment,:-provided with I a hanidle and casters thereon and-.a sma1l-e1ect-ric-mo- -tor havinga' toggle: switch andwires for-readily rconnectingtothe ordinary lighting circuit of a "residence; the motor being adapted to ;-rotate said spring "cable rapidlygto loosen said-accumulation and clean saiddrain-pipe. Other objects of my present-invention will" be disclosed in the accompanying specification.

iThe foregoing "objects have been attained in .skilled inithe'art maybe-able; to-construct and :use my'portable electricdrain-pipe cleaner.

, In said drawings:

,Fig; 1 is-a plan view of :the upperqoutsideof my new'. ,device closed, but showing a ,part of the -tubularshaft and-the hand-wheel fixed thereon, and also showing the relative position of the icarrying-handle -and the latches and hinges of the compound cover offthe housing.

.Figr 2 is a side elevational iewof .myv new device closed for transportation, and showing the ,circular integral wire grapple ,-on .the end of the spring-cable, .and .the outer endrof .the threaded cable-sleeve withjthe clamping-nut thereon.

,Fig. 3 is a planview of theinside of my new .portable electric drain-pipe cleaner, showing the .electric. motor with its toggle switch and .wires, fixed therein, and the. rotary. conical. housing installed-between .themotor shaft and the tubular .shaft with "the hand-wheel rigidly mounted thereon.

"myipresentinvention, rand 'my -new and" useful part of the compound cover lrc.

Fig. '4 is an elevational view of the front'end -of said device, showing the-formof the handwheel and the heads of the-screws holding the ball bearing installedzonthe inside of-thewfront end-plate of thehousing.

Fig. '5 is a-plan view of 'theiinside: of myrnew portable electric drain-pipe cleaner with both swings of the compound cover wide open,.showing the-relative positions ofthe'internalparts thereof, the electric --motor .with its toggle switch and supply-wires attached thereto, the clamping nutand the'inner endofthe threaded sleeve, in ele- 'vation, while the rotary conical housing, the to.- -bular shaft and its 'contiguous circular collar and .the hand-wheel as well as parts ofthe threaded cable-sleeve, are shown-in; section, the upper parts thereof being removed I to :show the detail construction of the internal parts Y thereof.

This'invention-has'been designed and experimentally developed -in its details of: construction for the-purpose of producing at-a-reasonably low cost a portable electric drain-pipe cleaner for breaking through-accumulations cf matter in drain-pipes.

specialobjectsaforesaid in view, I-wil1-now'de And with said purpose and 1 the scribe-my invention more, fully'in detail; pointing out-the new'andusefulfeatures of the construc tion I and the operation of the individual parts and the combination thereof, as illustrated in'the drawings hereinabove described formingpartof the specification, in whichsimilar letters'and characters'refer to similar partsthroughoutthe several views.

=In the development and adaptation of the novel features ofmy present invention, for the sake of economyin, production and efficiency in operation, I have devised an oblong carryingcase I provided. on the bottom thereof withltwo casters, 1a, la,,at the back-end for balancing the case .and one caster at .the front end thereof. Iv have found thatone caster under the front end .allows meto shift the position of the case readily in service. The carrying handle lb for the complete (equipment I have riveted on the central Both sections of the compound cover L1: are strongly attached to.the upper edges of the sides of the housing I by means of three strong flat hinges, Iy, l'J, shown in'Figs. 1 and 2. When the housing is closed, the twosections of the compound cover are securely locked together by means of two latches Ic, lc, as-shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The spring-cable 3 has an integral conical enlargement 311 atits outer end; and the end of the outside coil of" said enlargement is bent outward,

sharpened and adapted, in rotating, to hook into any conglomerate mass of matter with which it comes in contact and tear the mass apart. The back of housing is closed with a metal disc having at its center a solid integral knob 5b, in whose axis is a deep boring for attaching the shaft of motor 4.

The tubular shaft 3d with the hand-wheel 2 rigidly mounted on the outer end, thereof, extends back through the ball bearing 5a and the contiguous circular collar of the housing 5, in the front end of which said collar is rigidly fastened, so that, when the housing 5 is rotated, the tubular shaft and the hand-wheel thereon are also rotated therewith. The threaded sleeve 3b is long enough to extend all the way through the tubular shaft 3d and a short distance into the rotary housing 5, said sleeve having a solid or closed inner end. As the inner end of said. cable isbeing pushed into said sleeve, just before reaching the solid or closed inner end of said sleeve, the end of said cable comes to a tapered opening 330 out large enough in one side of said sleeve to allow said cable to slide easily out of said sleve into the housing 5 and to coil therein. This is the manner of installing the spring-cable 3 into its housing 5 for storage therein; although said cable may be or feet long. The peak of the tapered opening 3m in the side of the threaded sleeve 3b, points toward the inner end of said sleeve, as shown in Fig. 5. After said cable has been thus pushed into the housing 5 and coiled therein, it may be locked in that position by means of the clamping-nut 30, for transportation or storage, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The operator, in looking the cable 3 so it cannot be moved into or out of the housing 5, first places one hand on the hand-wheel 2 to hold the tubular shaft 301 from turning, while he places his other hand on the clamping-nut 3c, and screws the nut against the smooth end of said tubular shaft. This operation forces the threaded sleeve 3b outwardly along said tubular shaft. This outward movement of the threaded sleeve draws that part of the cable 3 projecting out of said tapered opening in the side of the inner end of said sleeve, forcefully against the inner edge of said circular collar fastened in the front end of the housing 5, and thereby locks the cable 3 by the forceful pressure upon said cable now held between the inner edge of said circular collar and the converging edges of said opening in the side of said sleeve, out through which said cable extends, so that cable 3 cannot be moved. into nor out of the housing 5 until released again therefrom by the reverse movement of said clamping nut.

In Fig. 5 are shown the open carrying case I and the enclosed parts of my portable electric drain-pipe cleaner. The conical cable housing 5 and the circular contiguous collar 50 are shown in section. Also the tubular shaft 3d, the handwheel 2, and the ball-bearing 5a are shown in section; while the outer portion of the threaded cable-sleeve is shown in section, a short part of the inner portion of said sleeve where the tapered opening 3x is out, is shown in elevation to illustrate the position and the shape of the tapered opening 320; the spring-cable being shown in a position to be locked by means of the inner ends of the tubular shaft 3d and its contiguous collar 50 pressing the cable 3 against the converging edges of the inner end of the tapered opening 3x, when the clamping nut 30 has been given a few more turns to force the cable-sleeve outward a little farther.

There is ample room in this carrying-case l for the operator thereof to take along therein a coil of electric wire for the purpose of connecting his motor 4 to a convenient electric circuit. As he goes on a job with this portable electric drain-pipe cleaner, to clean an accumulation of matter from a drain-pipe, he places the front end of the device near the trap or other opening of said pipe. He then unhooks the latches, [0, lo, of the compound cover, la: and opening the case, takes therefrom his coil of electric wire, adapted for connecting his motor 4 with an adjacent electric supply circuit.

The operator is now ready to insert the enlarged hook-end 3a, also called the auger-end, of the spring-cable 3, into the drain-pipe, through the trap or other opening therein. He first unlocks the cable 3, by placing one hand on the hand-wheel 2 and his other hand on the clamping-nut 3c, unscrewing the nut away from the end of the tubular shaft 3d, thus allowing the threaded sleeve 3b to move inwardly in the tubular shaft and so release the locking pressure on that part of said cable extending out of said side-opening in said sleeve. The operator now pulls out of the housing 5 three or four feet of the cable 3 and with said clamping-nut locks the cable again. Then he pushes some of this cable into said drain-pipe, through the trap or other opening therein. He then closes the cover la: of the carrying-case, and proceeds to connect one end of his connecting wire to an adjacent electric supply circuit, and plugs the other end of said wire into the socket Id fixed in through the back end of the case I for the installation of the sup ply wires 41) for driving the motor 4. One of these supply wires runs directly into the motor 4 through the wire-box 4c and the other supply wire 4a runs up through the toggle switch 4d and back through box 4c into the motor 4. The operator now throws his toggle switch for electric connection starting his motor, and allowing it to run 40 or revolutions, while he pushes the cleaning equipment slowly up near the opening in said drain-pipe. The operator then stops the motor and unlocks the cable, pulls the equipment back a few feet from said trap and proceeds to push into said drain-pipe as much of the cable as he can, and then he turns the motor on and lets it run a few minutes at full speed after pulling the equipment out gradually for 5 or 6 feet from said trap. The operator then shuts off the motor, unlocks the cable and pushes more of the cable into the drain-pipe, if necessary; then looking the cable, he turns on the motor again for a thorough cleaning of said pipe. He now stops the motor, unlocks the cable and pulls it from the drain-pipe by hand, turning the handwheel to help. He then replaces the trap-plug and flushes the drain-pipe, finding the accumulation of matter in the drain-pipe broken up by the rotating cable and its enlarged hook-end and completely washed away.

It should be thoroughly understood that the specific detail of the various parts of the present embodiment of my invention, as I have illustrated in the drawings thereof and fully described, are not to be considered as limitations in the construction of the detail parts of my portable electric drain-pipe cleaner, and that I may make desirable modifications in these details, to facilitate production or to economize in the fabrication of the parts thereof, provided I keep within the scope of my invention and claim.

Now, having thus described the various features of my invention, the detail construction, arrangement and combination of its parts, as well as its functions and the ways and means of operation and application; those features and accessories of my invention that I consider new and useful and on which I desire Letters Patent granted to me, I have hereinbelow set forth and specifically described in the following claim.

I claim:

In a portable electric drain-pipe cleaner of the character described, the combination with a conventional sheet-metal carrying-case having hinged and latched top-covers and an ordinary carrying handle securely fastened thereon, said case having installed therein an electric motor and a conventional conical rotary cable-housing having a circular collar fastened in the front end thereof, said housing being rotatably attached to the shaft of said motor and adapted to rotate therewith, of a conventional flexible, springcable having the customary integral conical enlargement and hook on the outer end thereof, adapted, in rotating, to hook into a conglomerate mass of matter in a drain-pipe and tear it apart; a perforation in the rear end of said carryingcase; a rubber bushing fixed therein designed for the entrance of electric supply-wires for said motor; customary rubber-tired, swiveled casters fixed on the underside of said carrying-case for the easy movement of said case and its equipment; a toggle-switch for starting and stopping said motor, fixed to the inner side of said topcover means and adapted to be operated from the outside thereof; a perforation in the middle front end of said carrying-case provided with a ball-bearing fastened to the inner side of said front end; a tubular shaft passing through said perforation and rotatable in said ball-bearing and having its inner end rigidly fixed in said circular collar fastened in the front end of said conical cable-housing; a hand-wheel to help lock and unlock said cable, fastened on the outer endportion of said tubular shaft and adapted to rotate therewith; a sleeve for said cable fitted slidingly into said tubular shaft, and having its outer end-portion threaded and standing out a short distance beyond said hand-wheel and a smooth end of said tubular shaft, the inner end of said cable-sleeve being solid or closed and standing a short distance into said cable-housing; a tapered opening in one side of said cablesleeve near the solid or closed inner end thereof, said opening being large enough for the passage therethrough of said spring-cable; and a clamping-nut fitted on the threaded outer end of said cable-sleeve as a means for locking and unlocking the movement of said cable, said clampingnut being adapted to be screwed against a smooth outer end of said tubular shaft for forcing said cable-sleeve outward thereby locking said cable by means of the inner ends of said tubular shaft and its contiguous collar pressing said cable into the converging edges of the inner end of said tapered opening, thus preventing said cable from moving in or out of said cable-housing.

CONRAD W. FAUST. 

